HISTORIC TAVERN TRAIL
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H I S T O R I C   R U M   T R A I L
NEVIS: A BIRTHPLACE OF RUM

The history of rum production, an outgrowth of the lucrative international trade of sugar is intertwined the history of slavery in the West Indies. It was the labor and artisan knowledge of the enslaved population that was exploited by colonial land barons and merchants to grow, harvest and process sugar cane. Laborers pressed sugar cane and boiled the juices and strained the concoction leaving the syrupy byproduct called molasses behind. The dark colored raw sugar would be packed into hogshead barrels for shipping to Europe where it would be purified, repackaged, and branded for commercial markets. The molasses was discarded.

It was the enslaved workers in the Caribbean sugar industry who recognized that the waste molasses could be fermented to make an alcohol, and it is hotly debated by historians as to whether that initial invention of this spirit happened on the island of Nevis or the island of Barbados. A French naturalist named Caesar Rochefort visited Nevis in 1649 and wrote that Nevisians distilled a "delicious liquor made of sugar cane," in 1651 a reference to the "hot, hellish, terrible liquor" shows up in a description of Barbardos. The identity of the inventors and the original name of the drink are now forgotten but when it reached the sailors it was nicknamed “kill-devil” and “rumbullion,” and by the 1650s it had spread throughout the Caribbean and was known simply as “rum.”

The rum was soon mixed with local citrus fruits and the British navy adopted the combination as part of sailors’ rations in 1655 to replace the less stable grogs made from beer or wine. The drink became so popular that in 1664 (the year that the British government purchased New York from the Dutch) a rum distillery was set up on Staten Island, New York and the drink’s popularity made its way into commercial centers of North America and Europe. The export of molasses from the Caribbean to port cities worldwide would persist for centuries taking on many connotations, showing up in the legends of pirates of the Atlantic World to the lore of the gangsters of Prohibition in the United States.
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As a birthplace of rum, it is fitting that on the island of Nevis, you can still find classic rum punch (or a modern spin) served in every establishment. 

"Rum, alas Kill Devil, is much ador'd by the American English. [It] is held as the Comforter of their Souls, the Preserver of  their Bodys, the Remover of their Cares." - Edward Ward, 1699

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​A SMALL BATCH ARTISANAL RUM
​BOTTLED ON NEVIS

CLIFTON ESTATE RUM
Clifton Estate Rum is infused by hand in small batches with 100% natural ingredients including citrus and honey. They offer private rum tastings and bottles can be purchased duty free. 

During the Alexander Hamilton Statue Unveiling festivities in July 2022, 250 commemorative bottles were created as a memento of the 250 years since Alexander Hamilton left the Caribbean for New York. Limited edition bottles can be purchased from the Nevis Historical and Conservation Society giftshop. 

E  X  P  L  O  R  E    S  U  G  A  R    H  I  S  T  O  R  Y​
​"The chief fuddling they make in the island is Rumbullion, alias Kill-Divil, and this is made of sugar canes distilled, a hot, hellish, and terrible liquor."  1651

The New River Plantation
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Located on the windward coast of the island, remains of a 1720s sugar plantation are visible in the landscape. A large-scale site with several settlement periods, it is estimated that over 130 enslaved workers were engaged in the plantation’s operations at its height of production. Evidence of a great house, cisterns, windmills, boiling house and later steam powered mill can be seen in an open-air museum setting. 
The Nevisian Heritage Village
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Set on a former sugar plantation and cotton gin known previously as Fothergills Estate, the museum consists of reconstructed architectural examples. The structures span from the Native Carib style into the slavery and colonial periods and showcase period furniture and relics of past island industries. There is a replica of a rum shop on site and historical cooking demonstrations on special occasions.

"One of Sour, Two of Sweet, Three of Strong, Four of Weak"

The Perfect Traditional Punch in the Authentic Historic Setting

SAMPLE THE RUM PUNCH AT THE SITES OF HISTORIC SUGAR PLANTATIONS

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The Hermitage Inn
The Great House of the former Pemberton Estate was built in 1670 and is the oldest surviving wooden house in the Caribbean. As a working planation they experimented with various crops such as indigo, tobacco, cotton, spices, and eventually settled on sugar. A rum tour will not be complete without sampling the rum punch that is served here. Staff are committed to recreating the oldest known 300-year-old recipe using local ingredients. Check ahead as they also offer traditional spit roasts and local cuisine buffet meals.



Golden Rock Inn
A 100-acre tropical destination which was operated as a sugar plantation by the family of Edward Huggins for over 200 years. This windmill and other ruins have been meticulously updated by New York artists Helen and Brice Marsden while preserving the historic atmosphere. United States Founding Father Alexander Hamilton was born on the island of Nevis around 1756, his mother Rachel Faucett’s family lived near here in the hamlet known as Gingerland.



Montpelier Plantation Inn
Established as the Sloane Estate in 1687 as a sugar plantation, it was the home of Nevis’ Royal Governor Joseph Richardson Herbert when the Great House was the site of the wedding of the famous British Admiral Horatio Nelson to his bride Fanny Nisbet in 1787. The remains of a windmill used for sugar production has been preserved and is arrangements can be made in advance to dine inside the ruins. At their poolside bar, they mix up a rum punch that it suited for royalty. Princess Diana was among their many illustrious past guests.



Bananas Bistro
This restaurant was built in the old plantation style with shingled walls and shutters. The one acre tropical oasis was once part of the larger Hamilton Estate, a sugar plantation which remained in operation until 1951. A rum punch here is best enjoyed from the upper porch where you can sip while surrounded by lush vegetation, a great place to watch the sunset.

Oualie Beach Resort

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Cottle Church, once part of the Roundhill Estate
Oualie Beach Resort is located on Round Hill Estate which was a successful 700-acre sugar plantation. The estate is also the location of the Cottle Church made famous as the first place where the Plantation owner and their enslaved workers worshipped together. The Yearwood family who own and operate Oualie Beach Resort also still own the ruins of the old sugar factory.

The rum punch recipe made at the beachside bar is the old traditional recipe first recorded by Mrs. Graham Yearwood some 300 years ago using a mix of St. Kitts white rum and Antiguan dark rum to get the perfect flavor. 

Rum and Rum Punch Tastings

Mango Restaurant @ Four Seasons has a rum bar with over 100 varieties of rum to sample.

Beachside Bars:

Oualie Beach Resort
Passion Bar and Grill
Sunshine’s Beach Bar
Turtle Time Beach Bar and Grill
Lime Beach Bar
The Gin Trap
The Yachtsman @ Hamilton Beach Villas
 
Every restaurant or bar on the island of Nevis offers their own version of the classic rum punch. The foundation of the drink is referred to with a simple rhyme, “One of sour, two of sweet, three of strong, four of weak” but can include a variety of embellishments such as local bitters and creative garnishes to put a unique twist on each recipe. 

Private Accommodations 

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​You can also rent an old sugar planation where you can mix up your own drinks to sip poolside or hire a local chef to cook up traditional cuisine from the island for you and your guests at Butler's House and Cottage. ​

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